Recovery In Illinois Personal Injury Cases

Generally, anyone has a personal injury claim if someone else wrongfully injured them and that injury produced damages. Damages definitely includes a broken bone as well as the accompanying medical bills, lost wages from missed work, pain and suffering and any associated property damage. To understand what that claim might look like in more detail, read our next section on the laws governing broken bone claims. However, before doing that you should realize that your claim could be defeated if you were at also responsible for the incident that gave rise to your injuries.

Illinois’ Rule On Comparative Fault And Broken Bone Cases

Illinois follows the theory of modified comparative negligence. This means that if you were more than 50% responsible for the incident, then you cannot recover at all. On the other hand, if you were 50% or less responsible for the incident, then you can still recover, but your recovery will be reduced by your portion of culpability. This means that if you have $100,000 in damages but the jury finds you were 40% responsible, then you can only $60,000. Yet, if they found you 51% or greater at fault, then you cannot recover at all. This fault regime is set forth in 735 ILCS 5/2-1116(c):

“In all actions on account of death, bodily injury or physical damage to property in which recovery is predicated upon fault, the contributory fault chargeable to the plaintiff shall be compared with the fault of all tortfeasors whose fault was a proximate cause of the death, injury, loss, or damage for which recovery is sought. The plaintiff shall be barred from recovering damages if the trier of fact finds that the contributory fault on the part of the plaintiff is more than 50% of the proximate cause of the injury or damage for which recovery is sought. The plaintiff shall not be barred from recovering damages if the trier of fact finds that the contributory fault on the part of the plaintiff is not more than 50% of the proximate cause of the injury or damage for which recovery is sought, but any economic or non-economic damages allowed shall be diminished in the proportion to the amount of fault attributable to the plaintiff.”

What Are Other Ways That My Broken Bone Case Can Be Defeated?

Comparative fault is a common method that defendants use to defeat broken bone and other personal injury cases. However, there are many others. The most prominent is their refuge in the statute of limitations. They will typically cry that you brought your case too late and that the relevant statute bars your action. [To read more about how much time you have to file your broken bone case in Illinois, click HERE]. If this doesn’t work, they’ll normally chip away at your damages and claim that they are not as much as you claim. Alternatively, they might try and throw out your case entirely on the premise that you haven’t proven it was them who caused your injuries in the first place. They will attempt to show that some third party or intervening force was the reason you broke your bones. You can be sure they will use other arguments and methods to defeat your broken bone case as well but these are some of their most tried and true methods.

What Can I Do To Protect My Broken Bone Case?

There are some quick and simple things that you can do to protect your broken bone claim in Illinois. Complete these tasks and you will be in a much better position when it is time to bring your suit to court:

Seek medical attention immediately after the incident.

Make a list of all of your memories about how you broke your bone.

Gather the contact information of everyone present during the accident.

Contact a qualified personal injury attorney.

Surely, there are more things that you can but this list isolates the most crucial items. Also, once you contact an Illinois lawyer, he or she can do all that needs to be done to obtain the recovery that you deserve.

Wondering If You Have A Broken Bone Claim?

Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC helps Illinois victims of personal injuries translate their harms into legal actions. Broken bones are one of the most frequent reasons why clients come to us for help. If you have suffered a fractured bone, we can make sure that you get the compensation that you deserve. Plus, we can do it at no cost until the case is over and you are happy with the award. Just give us a call and hear about how Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC can help you today!

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Testimonials

“Too many lawyers try pass you off to another person in their office to answer questions. Not Jonathan. I have already referred some family members to Jonathan for their injury cases. I consider Jonathan both my lawyer and my friend.”- Annie

Jonathan Rosenfeld was professionally objective, timely, and knowledgeable. Also, his advice was extremely effective regarding my case. In addition, Jonathan was understanding and patient pertaining to any of my questions or concerns. I was very happy with the end result and I highly recommend Jonathan Rosenfeld. Michonne Proulx

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Extremely impressed with this law firm. They took control of a bad motorcycle crash that left my uncle seriously injured. Without any guarantee of a financial recovery, they went out and hired accident investigators and engineers to help prove how the accident happened. I am grateful that they worked on a contingency fee basis as there was no way we could have paid for these services on our own. Ethan Armstrong

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This lawyer really helped me get compensation for my motorcycle accident case. I know there is no way that I could have gotten anywhere near the amount that Mr. Rosenfeld was able to get to settle my case. Thank you. Daniel Kaim

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Jonathan helped my family heal and get compensation after our child was suffered a life threatening injury at daycare. He was sympathetic and in constant contact with us letting us know all he knew every step of the way. We were so blessed to find Jonathan! Giulia

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Jonathan did a great job helping my family navigate through a lengthy lawsuit involving my grandmother's death in a nursing home. Through every step of the case, Jonathan kept my family informed of the progression of the case. Although our case eventually settled at a mediation, I really was impressed at how well prepared Jonathan was to take the case to trial. Lisa

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